#riverclan was next to a river

[arkomaly]

[sapphic-catz]

Thinking more about the fairy line in HAH (funny acronym I have now realized) and I love them a lot specifically the drama with ‘modern’ Riverclan’s fairies. But for now y’all get how the fairies first came about :)

Moth Flight was the first fairy and the first cat to make a proper anchor of sorts for the clans to contact their afterlife. In all afterlives they follow the specific religions ways but most cannot actually interact with their followers, but once Moth Flight found the Moonstone and awoken it she allowed them to now travel down to the clans. Before she touched the stone she looked like any cat but from the initial wave of magic she transformed grew features of a Luna moth with glowing antenna, wings sprouting from her body, and extra moth eyes.

Each of her kittens when they were born showed her same fairy traits as her. She loved them truly but the night Micah died she received the first prophecy, that of the blazing star. She was to spread her kin across the five clans and bring a stable connection for the clans generations, and even though it hurt she did it.

Moth Flight stayed in Windclan, Spider Paw went to Thunderclan, Bubbling Stream went to Riverclan, Honey Pelt went to Shadowclan, and Blue Whisker to Skyclan.

The Fairy’s Record was made that stated all cats with the markings of Moth Flight were to follow in her ancient paw steps becoming beacons for their clans to connect to Starclan and provide both guidance and care to their clanmates. If a bloodline was to die out in one clan then a cat with the fairy traits would traverse across and reestablish the fairy bloodline there. Unlike canon all Guides (aka med cats) are encouraged and in some cases forced to have kits of their own. But any vowed medics aren’t supposed to raise a litter unless they have some other cat that can take up their duties as their healing is so important to the clan.

[bonefall]

I know you talked about Crowfeather's abuse to Breezepelt, but are you keeping Nightcloud's physical abuse against Crowfeather? In all their arguments, Nightcloud is the only one who ever gets physical with Crow. In the books, she rakes her claws against him a few times drawing blood. If I had been young Breeze and had seen that it'd be one of the things that would make me do my best to be and stay in my mother's good graces. Yeah, my dad may smack me but he never cuts me, never leaves me open for death by infection.

When?

Have you read the books you're confidently citing right now? Or did you hear this from some amoeba and then didn't check it before coming into my house

POWER OF THREE:

The Sight: 13 mentions. Takes Breezepaw's side in a small verbal argument, then scolds him for xenophobia. Is scared her only child almost died and insists on carrying him alone. Upset when Leafpool makes a flirtatious comment to her husband, soothes two kids to sleep

Dark River: 4 mentions. Exists on a patrol and Leafpool is jealous of her.

Outcast: 1 mention. Nicely says goodbye to Crowfeather as he stares off into the distance thinking about Feathertail.

Eclipse: 1 mention. Takes part in the eclipse battle with the rest of WindClan.

Long Shadows: Unmentioned.

Sunrise: 4 mentions. Hears the reveal at the gathering and looks "bewildered and angry." Crowfeather tells her that he, "Has no kits other than Breezepelt" and she pins her ears against her head.

Was it here? In one of these 23 mentions across 6 books? PLEASE point out the "Cuts Me, Leaving Me Open For Death By Infection." I'm SO curious.

OMEN OF THE STARS:

The Fourth Apprentice: Unmentioned.

Fading Echoes: 1 mention. Thinks Dovepaw disguised her scent.

Night Whispers: 6 mentions. Argues with Crowfeather at Gatherings. Leafpool comes across a fight between Breezepelt and Lionblaze and pleads to Crowfeather, "How can you watch your sons fight?!" Nightcloud jumps forward glaring, repeats that her husband has no kits other than Breezepelt. Leafpool jumps in front of a Breezepelt lunge. Crowfeather jumps in, grabs his son, and "throws him aside like prey" before bitterly mocking another love confession from Leafpool. Nightcloud drags Crowfeather off. Crowfeather turns on Nightcloud, hissing, and Breezepelt jumps between them and says, "leave my mother alone." Warns them, "Next time, we'll shred you!" Later says something rude about RiverClan at a Gathering.

Sign of the Moon: Unmentioned.

The Forgotten Warrior: 2 mentions. Glares at Hollyleaf twice.

The Last Hope: 6 mentions. Is on a patrol that finds Jayfeather in a thornbush and glares at him. Then Crowfeather says it was all actually HER fault that Breezepelt turned out to be such a little brat.

Which one of these 9 MENTIONS ACROSS 6 BOOKS are we going for, today? Was it the part in Night Whispers? Is THAT where she Cuts His Life Into Pieces This Is Her Last Resort?

Let's play I-Spy 🔎! Highlight all the places Nightcloud "draws blood!"

Which of the following characters in this passage are bleeding? Is Crowfeather any of them 🤔? No?

Is it here? Is it this part? Which of these cats are bleeding? Is it Crowfeather🪶? Is it Lionblaze🦁? Is it beloved Character Actress Margot Martindale💃?

Oh? You mean to tell me that you were misrepresenting a cat dragging away another cat as "RAKING HER CLAWS AGAINST HIM DRAWING BLOOD AND LEAVING HIM OPEN FOR INFECTIONS TO DIE"?

In other words, a lie?

Pulling a big lever and sending you down into The Nightcloud Derangement Pit. I will be further woobifying her unencumbered. The Nightcloud Agenda will spread. Soon we will take the west coast.

[saltsongwc]

Now that we know the mates' perspective, what about the kiddos?

Tawnypaw: Our mother left us before we were able to truly remember her, we only know her from word of mouth and tales from others, which is, not much. The only one willing to speak highly of her was Darkstripe, and after Firestar told us what she did then those high tales really shattered my perspective of her. I really don't care who is my kin anymore, not when everyone just decides betrayal is the most logical choice, if it's so easy for you to tear away your clan and family, then I pity whoever she picked as mate next and the kits that'll be lucky to be blissfully unaware who their mother was.

Bramblepaw: Oh! I met them, for a bit... They left for Riverclan not long after the battle, but I got to say goodbye, Nightwhisper was alright, but, well he made dad sad and I didn't like seeing dad sad, so I never really talked to him much, but mom introduced me to Hawkkit, Mothkit and Redkit (Tadpole)! They were so cute and adorable! I always wanted little sibligs so I tried to be the best big brother while they stayed in Shadowclan... But well, I guess staying wasn't an option for them, sad

Mothkit: I miss Bramblepaw

Hawkkit: And the pine trees! We could play with shadows all day long, there aren't many shadows in Riverclan...

Redkit: I do like the water, and fish, and Sasha!

Hawkkit: Yeah our moms are so nice!

Mothkit: One day, we're going to be leader, medicine cat and deputy! he best trio of siblings the rivers will ever see!

(yeah the babies don't have that much opinion on their bio parents, but they're cute, look at them, babies)

[ask-the-half-moon-meeting]

The First Half-Moon Meeting

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Jaypaw paused right as he was stepping out through the thorn tunnel. Before she'd even asked the question, his legs had already been trembling, itching to turn back.

"I know things haven't been smooth between you and Brightheart," she said. "But it feels a bit premature for you to quit. Maybe she just needs some time to grow into her role as your mentor."

The apprentice poised his tongue to say something in retort, but he stopped himself as he considered how much he ought to say.

It was true that his apprenticeship under Brightheart had been a fiasco so far. The level of fretting whenever they went out of camp was suffocating and the amount of chores she'd pile on him were clearly there just to keep him in there. He'd barely even been able to get to know ThunderClan territory let alone learn the layout and how to navigate it. But that wasn't the reason he'd decided to become an oracle apprentice.

The sweet-smelling molly he'd dreamed about when he fell down the side of the gorge. The raspy voiced molly with the foul smell who'd hissed at him and chased him out when he had that dream in which he followed a steep rocky path. They'd both felt too real for him to dismiss. There was something going on, something he suspected he wasn't supposed to know, and he had to get to the bottom of it.

"I don't need to take an apprentice just yet," Leafpool said, draping her tail across his shoulders as she tried to nudge him to turn around and follow her back. "I can still take you on as an apprentice if you decide later on that this is the path for you, of course, but—"

In a snap, Jaypaw was broken out of his indecisiveness and his itch to turn around. "I have decided already!" he shouted, shrugging off her tail and stomping out in a fury. "This is my path!"

"Jaypaw! Wait!"

***

"Uhhhh…" Kestrelpaw said as he stared at the half-moon hanging in the night sky above. He sat on the banks of the river that marked the WindClan-ThunderClan border, his tail twitching just above the water. He'd been sitting there wracking his brain trying to calculate what time it was, but something about Barkface's instructions on how to do that wasn't quite clicking for him.

"It's halfway to moonhigh," Barkface finally told him.

Broken out of his thoughts, Kestrelpaw turned to his mentor. His tail hit the water and he gave a shrill yowl of surprise at the chill that ran up his spine. He jumped up at that, immediately hitting his mentor across the face.

The older tom gave a quiet grumble at that, staring at the apprentice as he licked down his sides in an attempt to regain composure.

"That's late, isn't it?" he said.

"It is," Barkface answered. "Something must be holding up the others if they haven't arrived yet…"

"Oh, Stars, I hope nothing too bad happened to them," Kestrelpaw said. "It sucked so much when I got whitecough the last time and had to remain nest-bound. I hope Willowpaw and Hollypaw didn't contract it too. I really wanted to meet her, you know? Being that she's ThunderClan and all. I heard from Harepaw and Antpaw—"

"Kestrelpaw!" Barkface practically growled, fed up with the barage of thoughts tumbling ever faster out of the apprentice's mouth. "How about you make yourself useful while we wait? I want you to cast a horoscope and divine the following question for me: 'What will WindClan's relationship to ThunderClan be like within the next season?'"

"But—"

"You need every bit of practice you can get," Barkface insisted. "This is the single most important skill an oracle apprentice learns and you are already behind."

With a sigh, Kestrelpaw set to work and began drawing his astrological chart on the ground. With a claw still on the ground, he turned his eyes upwards and idly licked his fangs as he began trying to locate the constellations. This was going to be a very long night.

***

Willowpaw darted out of RiverClan camp as soon as Mothwing was done with their last minute patient and headed for the oracles' rendezvous point at the WindClan-ThunderClan border.

"Willowpaw!" her mentor shouted from behind, but she didn't pay her any mind. "Slow down a little! We're not that late."

The moon was a little over halfway to moonhigh —very much later than they would usually head out but not quite enough they couldn't catch it at its zenith at the Moonpool— and yet for the RiverClan oracle apprentice every precious moment counted.

Leafpool's apprentice had, admittedly, become a bit of a distraction since the last half-moon meeting. More than once Willowpaw had caught herself thinking about that sleek black pelt, those vivid green eyes, the awkward way in which she tried to hide her enthusiasm and appear serious and focused…

As they came closer to the border stream, Willowpaw slowed down. Her eyes scanned her surrounding quickly, and once she noticed Leafpool and Hollypaw hadn't come yet, she deflated with a sigh.

"Willowpaw, hi!" Kestrelpaw greeted, perking his ears and tail as he trampled all over the horoscope he'd been working on and bounded up to her to rub cheeks. "You're late, what happened? Herb gathering mission that ran on long? Clan meeting? You're not hurt, are you?"

"Oh, no, no," she reassured, getting back on her feet and rubbing back as her friend circled and sat down in front of her. "Not me at least. Swallowtail just had a flare-up of her joint pain and we had to treat her. But it's routine at this point, you know? Elder stuff. What were you—"

Before she could finish that thought, a blue-eyed silver tabby —an apprentice judging by his size— emerged from the undergrowth at the ThunderClan side, panting as he caught his breath.

Right away, Willowpaw could tell who that was. But as she poised her tongue to ask him what he was doing here, Leafpool emerged right behind him and began chastising him. "Jaypaw! If you're going to be my apprentice, you can't be going off on your own like that! Especially not on your first half-moon meeting! Thank StarClan you ended up right where we needed to be!"

"Oh." Willowpaw muttered, then spoke up in surprise, "Wait! 'Apprentice'? What happened to Hollypaw?"

"She quit," Jaypaw answered immediately. "Job was too gross for her, so she ditched you and left it all to me. Better get accustomed to seeing my face around."

Leafpool swatted him across the muzzle with her tail. "Hollypaw found out this was not her calling, is all," Leafpool said. "Jaypaw showed interest in being my apprentice so I let him join us instead, at least for tonight. Please be patient with him, he—"

"I'm blind, not a kit," Jaypaw grumbled, swatting Leafpool's tail away.

***

"I see…" Willowpaw said, letting out a wistful sigh. "Well, I hope we can get along, anyway." She came closer to brush cheeks with Jaypaw, to which he immediately recoiled.

It wasn't too long after that Littlecloud joined the rest in the clearing. "I'm late it seems. So, so sorry, I was attending to Tawnypelt's kits. You know how it is the first few moons. Always something new with these. It seems they caught a bit of a fever but nothing I couldn't handle."

The oracles soon arranged themselves into their usual formation, with Littlecloud and the two senior oracles at the front, Mothwing and Leafpool just behind, and at the very back the three apprentices.

Jaypaw walked a fair bit farther away from the other two. His face was kept low to the ground as to allow him to better gauge the terrain with his whiskers. He seemed intently focused on it, keeping a steady and somewhat slower gait than the other two.

Noticing this, Willowpaw drifted closer to him, swinging her tail in such a way as to try to to let him hold onto it with her mouth. "Grab onto it," she commanded as she nearly smacked him on the face with it.

"I prefer to navigate on my own," Jaypaw said, gently pushing the tail from in front of him.

"It'll be easier if you let me guide you," Willowpaw insisted, once again almost smacking him with her tail as she offered him to hold on.

"No thanks," he grumbled this time, bringing a paw down on it.

"Don't be stubborn," she started once again. "The path is dangerous, if you don't know what you are doing—"

Jaypaw growled, raising his head as to be on the same level as Willowpaw. "I'm not some helpless little—" In his distraction, Jaypaw tripped over a hole in the ground. Willlowpaw grabbed at his scruff and pulled on it, all the while the silver tabby hissed and tried to claw at her. "Let go! Let go!"

"Jaypaw!" Leafpool chastised him. "Behave! Or I won't make you my apprentice!"

"But she—"

"I was trying to help you, you stubborn bee-brain!" Willowpaw said, releasing her hold on him. "Be grateful for once. I told you it was dangerous."

Jaypaw snarled about to retort, but Leafpool's stern "Jaypaw!" deflated him. "Apologize," she commanded.

For a moment a silence lingered among the group as the incident between the apprentices became the focus of attention, but eventually Jaypaw muttered a quick "I'm sorry" and continued along his way.

Willowpaw huffed in response, letting him on his own as the group continued on after the little incident. "Can you believe him?" she vented to Kestrelpaw. "What an ingrate!"

"I don't know, maybe you should have just let him do his own thing from the beginning," he said. He glanced at the silver tabby apprentice as he continued to navigate with his whiskers close to the ground. "He did tell you he prefers to do it that way."

Willowpaw glared at him from the side.

"You could have still helped if he was about to make a dangerous misstep," Kestrelpaw said. "Just, you know, maybe trust that he knows what he's doing? I mean, he made it here on his own. He must know, at least a little bit"

Willowpaw simply flicked her tail in dismissal, and the apprentices spent the rest of their walk up to the Moonpool in silence.

***

Jaypaw had trouble believing he was in StarClan at all at first. It all appearead the same to him: the same texture of the stones underfoot, the same nighttime breee ruffling his fur, even the same eery quiet that hung over the Moonpool. But as he began navigating around the stone hollow, he couldn't find any of their other cats. Not by scent, not by touch, not by any other sensation he could feel.

Jaypaw paused as he heard wings flapping and felt an unnatural shiver run down his spine. Soon enough a familiar sweet scent began wafting towards his nose. Then came the sound of pawsteps, and he instinctually went into an alert stance.

"Well, what have we got here," she said in a playful tone as she circled him. "I see that your curiosity ended up winning, eh? I'm glad that you decided to join us. That sister of yours… Not exactly what I was looking for." She paused. "If you meet Firestar up here don't tell him that I said that."

Jaypaw didn't drop his stance. "Who are you?"

"My name is Spottedleaf —you wouldn't know me, but I was ThunderClan's former oracle," she said.

Jaypaw paused for a moment, relaxing his stance somewhat. "That other molly is also a StarClan cat isn't she?" Jaypaw asked. "The raspy-voiced one who smelled like she hadn't washed in moons."

"That sounds like Yellowfang, so yes," Spottedleaf replied. "She spoke to you then?"

"She growled at me and told me to stay away last time I was here," Jaypaw confirmed. "What is happening here, then, that you want me here but she doesn't?"

Spottedleaf hummed. "I don't think you are ready for me to tell you that." She saw Jaypaw bristle at that. "Buuuut. I think I can say just a little bit about it if you answer a couple of my questions."

***

As soon as Kestrelpaw awoke in StarClan, among a heather meadow very reminiscent of his own home, he ran towards the edge of the cloud island and looked down to his home. It was his absolute favorite part of the meetings, to be able to look down at everything with this new perspective. The young apprentice would have stayed there all night observing where it not for the sudden shiver that announced the presence of a StarClan cat.

A small brown bird with long, narrow crescent shaped wings —a swift, Kestrelpaw could tell— glid down onto the sky island and in a blinding flash it turned into a star-speckled ginger and white tom. He looked to be about Willowpaw's age, awkwardly proportioned as he finally settled into his adult size. He was obviously a WindClan warrior apprentice, however, with that lean muscle showing on his long legs.

"Hey there!" he chirped. "Kestrelpaw right?"

Kestrelpaw nodded, lowering his head in a sign of respect as Barkface had drilled into him.

"Oh, come on, don't be that formal," the StarClan cat said as he slipped his own head under Kestrelpaw's chin. "My name's Gorsepaw."

Recognition immediately flickered in the oracle apprentice's eyes as he heard that name.

"I really wanted to come meet you last half-moon but you weren't here. I want you to tell me everything about how WindClan is doing."

***

Willowpaw sat at the edge of a lakeshore reminiscent of her own home, lost in thought as she waited for the StarClan spirit who would talk to her that night. Though she of course knew better than to listen to that brat Jaypaw, doubly so now that she'd actually met him, she couldn't help but come back to what he'd said about the reason for Hollypaw quitting.

"Job was too gross for her, so she ditched you and left it all to me."

Was the job really what she found so gross? The few times she saw Hollypaw she was bursting at the seams with enthusiasm for it! Willowpaw had heard the dumb mumblings about RiverClan, how their silky, glossy pelts and heavy frames were spoiled by their fishy scent. It was a ridiculous thing to say, and yet it swirled in her head how maybe, just maybe—

A shiver ran down Willowpaw's spine and she craned her head upwards, seeing a star flicker away in the distance then suddenly a large black bird —a cormorant— dived down and plunged into the lake until it emerged with a trout in its beak. The bird swam towards the shore and set the catch between himself and Willowpaw, not bothering to change into a cat form or dry off.

"Mudfur," Willowpaw acknowledged as she bowed in respect. "It is an honor to see you again."

"I would say it's an honor to once again meet with our Clan's future oracle," the StarClan warrior replied. "But it seems there is something else clouding your thoughts as of now, something unbefitting of your station as an oracle's apprentice."

Willowpaw jolted in surprise at those words. "I assure you I'll get over it. I know it's silly, but…" She trailed off and remained silent for quite a while until she gave up trying to find any words that would properly explain it. "How about we get on with—"

"It is actually my business of tonight," he replied. "I know that kind of forlorn expression. And as RiverClan's soon-to-be oracle, and the only one who can talk to us as well, this is something that has to be addressed. So…"

[sotcwcrp]

SECRETS OF THE CLANS, SERVER-WIDE OPENING

Art done by our member Car! -> Carnationcarnivore ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ⊹ ┊ ┊ ┊ ★ ┊ ⊹ ┊ ☆ ┊ ★ ⊹ ☆

Applications will be opening soon! ⭐ Our next open period begins February 28th and will come to a close on March 23rd! ★ ( Our server runs on EST time! ) We'll be letting people into the server on the weekends, including Friday. You may come hangout in the waiting room in the meantime!

SOTC runs on a clan-locked system! This meaning, upon joining you will fill out a personality quiz that assigns you to a clan, where you will be able to create characters only from that clan! (Don't worry if you're unhappy with where you're sorted, you're able to switch within the first few weeks of joining!)

Our clan-locked system helps to create bonds within your clan, more realistic cross-clan romances and rivalries as well as gatherings that can feel authentic and surprising!

Our Clans are different from the books!

While we do share the territories and names as Thunderclan, Riverclan, Shadowclan and Windclan.. the culture and lore of each are unique and very different!

RiverClan is rich and deeply felt, taking artistic leaps into the depths of their culture. Song is not only for the romantic heart, but a tied connection to the very start of the clan. Tunes and lyrics are woven together to memorialize their history, passed down from generation to generation. Their admiration for the finer things continues to the bright blossoms across their territory, flowers of all types have meaning for more than den decoration and visual appreciation-- but flower language is often a hobby across waterweavers and shorekeepers a like, tied into their marriages, courting and formal attires. Territorial appreciation is not only carried to the rivers, but in the stars that reflect above. Riverclan has their own array of constellations, telling the story of the mighty Riverstar and even controversially-- starcrossed forbidden lovers.

Like a family is quite the apt description. ShadowClan, while frequently misconstrued as deceptive cats who prowl at night and nip the tails of passerby cats, are actually quite the vibrant band. From singing and dancing to plays and art, any form of creativity you can imagine is celebrated and appreciated. During the brightest hours of day and the darkest hours of night, the territory is silent, punctuated only by hushed murmurs and the soft snores of sleeping cats. Within ShadowClan, the song of nature takes the form of a lullaby. When the sun rises and falls, only then does the Clan come alive, every mealtime a festivity to remember. Each member is one part of the whole, loved like blood no matter the cat, with strength enough to move mountains.

ThunderClan loves to delve into the world around them and celebrate every little bit that the forest throws at them. The Timbered language is no exception, as it was born from their appreciation for the complex symphony of birdsong greeting them from sunrise to sunset. In fact, all of ThunderClan’s culture comes from embracing the forest’s gifts and displaying them to the world, with all the pride of a beautiful bird flaunting its feathers.

With the abundance of berries, flowers, and other bright natural dyes found in the forest, ThunderClan cats often sport multi-colored looks, especially in certain patterns called pawstains. Their love of painting extends past their fur and onto physical objects as well, especially the bark armor they craft throughout their apprenticeships. ThunderClan cats are spirited, bright, and as loud as the storms they celebrate, and they’ll always be deeply connected to the forest that shelters them.

WindClan's culture is a familial, welcoming one. Many a cat has wandered into the moors and chosen to remain, appreciative of the Clan's hospitality and willingness to care for strangers as if they were one of their own. Outsiders are an important part of the Clan, for it has been Windclan’s willingness to take in strangers and welcome them into its ways that has kept the Clan so open and determined to do right by one another, no matter the differences between them. The openness of the moor and tightness of the tunnels make the close bonds between Clanmates ever more important—who, if not a Clanmate, will literally dig you out of a problem when one occurs?

WindClan's determination is notable, too! Without the shelter of the trees, WindClan cats have learned to persist even in the worst weather conditions, proud of their enviable proximity to the stars each night. And underground, where the territory is littered with rabbit warrens and badger dens, WindClan learned to make use of these features to provide for the Clan and keep it safe and secure, even in the most dire of circumstances.

[thefivecrowns]

“Reedshell turned back to Nightpaw, a gentle smile on his face. ‘Nightpaw, you’re a super hard worker. If you can tell me about three herbs that I give you, I’ll let you have a whole day of break.’ Reedshell tucked his tail over his paws, waiting for Nightpaw to accept his offer. Nightpaw's attention turned toward her mentor as he returned with a smile on his face. While she was grateful for his praise—again, Nightpaw couldn't help but feel her heart sink at the thought of being quizzed. But she feared that she would have to get used to it. ‘Oh, well—okay okay. Let's do it.’ ‘Alright, here are your three herbs. One, juniper berries. Two, borage leaves. Three, mallow.’  Reedshell listed off the three herbs, running through them in his own mind. He knew she could pass one simple test. Nightpaw nodded and furrowed her brows in focus, listening intently to her mentor as he listed off a short series of herbs. Should be easy enough. ‘Juniper berries," she started, trying to recall everything she could. ‘They're purple, and grow on bushes. Usually not in season during colder months like leaf-bare. And they're commonly used for bellyaches. I think they're also used for breathing and give a soothing effect as well. Okay, now for borage leaves. They're a dark green leaf, and they're used for nursing queens to help produce milk. Also good for bellyaches!’ Nightpaw thought hard. Her heart pounded at the thought of not being able to correctly remember mallow and its uses. But something about all three herbs clicked for her just then. ‘Mallow—also used for bellyaches.’ Reedshell hummed in playful thought after she finished. ‘You… passed! You really know your stuff.’”

Check out this snippet from a member interaction in RiverClan, one of the five Clans in the River Territory! They inhabit the Wetlands north of the grand Gathering Island, and are led by Swanstar, an empathetic yet naive leader.

With power-hungry leaders and fierce wars bloodying their history, RiverClan is renowned for their power in battle. The Clan was founded on a militaristic approach to Clan life, so battle practice and spars dominate their training curriculum, and warriors are often eager to engage in conflict and prove their strength to their neighbors. They spend much of their time preparing for war and developing techniques that hinge on their unique affinity for the water, in which they hunt most of their prey and swim in the warmer seasons; they’re trained specially to recognize fish migration patterns, and use their understanding of the currents to identify ideal hunting and fighting locations.

In reclaiming their title as the most powerful Clan, RiverClan led the charge against DuskClan from the moment they stepped paw in the Oak Forest. When their leader Icestar killed Hawkstar in a descent from the high branches of the Whispering Tree, they gathered the other Clans as their allies and drove DuskClan out for good. Now that RiverClan has conquered their enemy and won back the trust of their neighbors, they’re working toward remodeling themselves and maintaining the peace for as long as it takes to recover from DuskClan’s effects and prep for the next conflict.

Interested in reading more about RiverClan? Learn more here! You can also read up on more of their history within the roleplay by viewing our Past Plots doc found in the Main Doc.

Character & Snippet Text Credits: Nightpaw [left; @planetvenusxx], Reedshell [right; @/King]

Art Credit: CaptDin_ [@captdinner]

[silverdawn1498]

Mapleshade’s Vengeance Rewrite

-Maplekit is born to Dawnfeather and Redstar alongside Seedkit. Redstar and Dawnfeather had lost several litters before and became a bit protective

-Maplekit becomes spoiled and entitled from being the leader’s kit while Seedkit becomes disappointed by his sister’s behavior

-The day before Maplekit and Seedkit become apprentices, Redstar dies from a tainted piece of fresh-kill and the ceremony is pushed back by a day

-Seedpaw slowly starts to drift apart from Maplepaw during their apprenticeship

-A couple of moons pass when Dawnfeather tells Maplepaw that she is expecting kits, and Maplepaw assumes that she is replacing her with the new kits

-Dawnfeather dies from greencough when Nettlekit is four moons old, and Maplepaw has another breakdown

-The newly named Birchface decides to bring Maplepaw to the forest in order to talk privately about her reaction and reveals about his mother's death

-Maplepaw gains a small crush on him

-But she never gets the chance to tell him since a few moons later, he falls from Sunningrocks and drowns alongside his apprentice

-Mapleshade completely shuts down for a while until she formally meets the tom that caused the accident: Appledusk

-The two keep meeting at Gatherings and border patrols before they confess to each other and start meeting in secret

-A few moons passed and Mapleshade reveals her pregnancy to Appledusk

-Appledusk is reasonably worried about ThunderClan finding out, but Mapleshade pushes aside his worries

-Frecklewish approaches Mapleshade the next day and wonders if, against all odds, the kits are Birchface's, and takes Mapleshade's shocked silence as a 'yes'

-Petalkit, Larchkit, and Patchkit are born

-Two moons later, the secret is revealed after Ravenwing misunderstands a sign

-At the river, Mapleshade is trying to get her kits to swim across when a patrol of Bloomheart, Seedpelt, and Frecklewish appear and says that Oakstar changed his mind after an elder, Amberclaw, reveals that Oakstar is half-Clan since his father Gorseclaw was born in a now forgotten Clan and brought to ThunderClan as a kit with his sister and mother

-But Mapleshade is too blinded by hostility to even listen and instead yells them that it's too late before yelling at her kits to cross the river

-Unfortunately, the kits instead run to the patrol

-Mapleshade, feeling betrayed by the only ones that could never leave her, tries to attack them but Bloomheart fends her off and accidentally pushes her into the river

-The RiverClan patrol still manages to save her, and she is freaking out over ThunderClan 'stealing' her kits

-She is brought to Darkstar where Appledusk reveals their secret meetings

-When asked about what she meant about ThunderClan stealing her kits, Mapleshade reveals what happened and begs for RiverClan's help

-Darkstar notices an unsettling look in Mapleshade's eyes and decides that she will not risk her warriors' lives just to get three kits

-Mapleshade yells at her before turning to Appledusk for help, which he says that she is not the cat he once thought she was and wants nothing to do with her

-"You told me you loved me! I went through the agony of bearing your kits! And now, you treat me worse than prey. You will regret this Appledusk. That is my last promise to you."

-She then runs out of RiverClan's camp and ends up at the barn where she plots how to make both RiverClan and ThunderClan pay

-The next few moons, she secretly torments the Clans by stealing prey from both territories and putting them on the other's territories, she kills Ravenwing at the Moonstone, she blinds a pregnant Frecklewish when she's out on a stroll, and paralyzes Perchpaw before killing Appledusk while trying to attack Reedshine

-Reedshine's yowl alerts a nearby patrol that attack Mapleshade and chase her off the territory where she returns to the barn and dies, descending to the Dark Forest

-In the epilogue, Frecklewish died giving birth to stillborn kits, Petalkit is now Petaldawn and is Flashpaw's and Daisypaw's mother, Larchkit is now Larchtail and is Mistpaw's mentor, and Patchkit is now Patchface, the new ThunderClan medicine cat after Cloudberry was asked to train him when Ravenwing died

[everybody-loves-purdy]

Imo Frostpaw being on the book cover for Star is wierd. There was basically no reason for her to be on the front of an other book cover when she was alredy featured on the front of Shadow. It would make way more sense for the authors to put Mothwing, Icewing or Duskfur there since they seem like the most likely candidates and knowing how bad this arc has been at trying to avoid spoilers I doubt it was a choice done not to spoils us who the next leader of Riverclan is gonna be. Vicky saying that writing Star has made Frostpaw her new favorite character is also suspicious, and by the preview it seems like a big focus of this book is gonna be on Frostpaw herself. Maybe we are reading too much into this and getting our hopes to high, but at the same time it cannot be denied that the Warrior Cats marketing team is putting a lot of focus on Frostpaw character, more than we have ever seen them do with any other protagonist.

Yeah they are really building up Frostpaw and they have done for a long time. Obviously there was hype for her pre release since she’s our first RiverClan protagonist, but the Erins have just kept that momentum going, giving her by far the most attention out of the three POVs, honestly more attention than I think they’ve ever given to one of their pov characters during an arc’s run. Her story is leading to something big. They want us to pay attention to her, they want us to like her, more so than the other POVs.

Because it’s not even like Shadow and Star are the only covers Frostpaw features on, she is also on the cover of River and Wind. She is on the cover of 4/6 ASC books. Nightheart is on 2/6 covers, Sunbeam is on 3/6, and they each only get to be front and centre once while Frostpaw gets this privilege twice.

About the cover, they could have easily had Frostpaw, Mothwing, Icewing (maybe depending on how present she is) and Duskfur on the cover. Or even Frostpaw, Sunbeam, and Nightheart, which would make a lot of sense. But they didn’t They opted to show Frostpaw front and centre, with Mistystar and Reedwhisker, the last two cats who truly had claim to lead RiverClan, watching over her. Are they waiting for her to make a choice on their successor or are they waiting for her to be next in line?

Like you say we could be getting our hopes up for Froststar but regardless all the evidence points to something huge happening to Frostpaw at the end of all this. And the easiest answer to what this huge thing could be is her becoming leader, because what could be bigger than that?

[bodacious-energizedprotodermis]

the conversation that Lionpaw and Brambleclaw have about Lionpaw being upset with Hollypaw is fucking weird.

was it always supposed to be Hollypaw who caught on to Lionpaw sneaking out with Heatherpaw? or was something else supposed to happen, possibly in addition to that, that would have some cat who was not Hollypaw doubting Lionpaw's loyalty?

because.

Brambleclaw talks about Hollypaw like he would any rando cat in the Clan. not like Hollypaw is Lionpaw's sister, and Brambleclaw's daughter. he doesn't even ask why his children - or even just why two of his Clanmates - are having such a serious disagreement. he's the Clan deputy, this sounds like something he should care about.

I recall in New Prophecy Sandstorm confronting Squirrelflight about squashing the arguments between her and Brambleclaw if only for the sake of them being able to work together for the good of the Clan (Brambleclaw also should have received a similar talking-to, but whatever).

instead, Brambleclaw draws comparisons between himself and Lionpaw and having to prove himself over and over to his Clanmates because, yknow. Tigerstar.

but...it falls kinda flat if you remember that Hollypaw is ALSO Tigerstar's kin???

"You can't force Hollypaw to believe in you. You have to show her that you are worth believing in."

what??? would he say something similar about Tawnypelt???

this book is fucking weird about kin btw. Hollypaw keeps thinking about potentially fighting her newborn cousins in ShadowClan someday and gets very conflicted about it. she also thinks about her friend, Willowpaw, and how having relationships in other Clans is messy (something she relays to Lionpaw about his relationship with Heatherpaw).

but, fuck Mothwing, I guess. so far she's never brought up in the context of kin in another Clan or loose relationships with a cat in RiverClan. she meets both criteria!

on that same note, after all of Lionpaw's wonderings about Hawkfrost's death in the previous book, he hasn't thought about it at all even though he gets to talk to the ghost himself all the time. not a big deal, it's just odd that he totally forgot. he hasn't once thought of Hawkfrost or Tigerstar as being his kin. did he forget? did he read ahead?

I'm not done with the book yet tho, so catch me next time when all my gripes have been refuted and I look stupid. it's gonna take a little while, Dark River is a bit of a slog with the crushing ableism and weird character choices.

[celluzu]

QSMP as Warrior Cats

Thunderclan: Roier, Quackity, Vegetta, Baghera, Slime, Mariana, Etoiles, Leonarda, Juanaflippa, Tilin, Pomme.

Shadowclan: Badboyhalo, Cellbit, Jaiden, FitMC, Foolish, Dapper, Ramon.

Riverclan: Forever, Pac, Mike, Maxo, Aypierre, Trump, Richarlyson.

Windclan: Philza, Missa, Felps, Antoine, Tallulah, Chayanne.

Loner/Rouge: Wilbur, Spreen, Kameto.

Starclan: Luzu, DanTDM, Rubius, Tilin, Bobby, Trump, Juanaflippa.

Dark Forest: Cucurucho, Elquackity.

- All "eggs" were found at fourtrees on the same night, the clans believe the kits to be a sign from Starclan for more peaceful, united times. The kits were taken back to clan camps, and continue to aid in bringing them together. They'll soon have more dangerous forces to deal with than border disputes.

- Unfortunately for the clans, these kits only seem to draw those dangers closer to their home. They quickly find that something is targeting the "eggs" and are devastated and enraged when they lose three of them to the mysterious monsters.

- Felps, believing to be following a starclan cat was led into the old Windclan tunnels. If he didn't know any better, he might just think that the "starclan" cat was the one who made the only exit collapse.

- Quackity vanished on the way home from a gathering, returning the next moon to the clans suspicion.

- Elquackity possesses Quackity's body similarly to how Ashfur possesses Bramblestar in the recent arc

- Wilbur is a loner, who found Tallulah at the edge of the Windclan border, knowing he couldn't take care of her alone he brought her to Windclan. He visits frequently, and is seen as a friend of the clans.

- Spreen is considered a hostile rouge by Thunderclan after attacking their Warrior Roier.

- Jaiden was once a thunderclan cat, after being plagued with nightmares of the dark forest she sought refuge with Shadowclan. Thunderclan believes her to be dead.

- Pac was separated from his patrol while examining suspicious paw prints after the disappearance of a friendly kitty pet. He found himself at the river, where he was dragged into the water by a mysterious force.

- Mike refuses sleep after his disappearance, fearful that Pac may visit his dreams from Starclan and confirm his fears that his friend might truly be dead

- Richarlyson can often be found crossing the river onto Sunningrocks to play with with Bobby. Forever can often be found dragging him back.

[bonefall]

For Riverstar’s Heir, do you have any idea where you want to land themeatically? Because from my reading of the possible themeatic directions, with the whole story being about this crisis of politics and succession, it feels like the character who “should” become the next leader of RiverClan narratively should be the Most ruthless/aggressive/willing to resort to dishonorable methods of dealing with rivals (reinforcing RiverClan’s entry into/building up of the early Clans’ emerging systems of battle society)

The alternative “most interesting” option I can imagine would be one that is least likely/least aggressive/some otherwise sort of underdog candidate (maybe not even technically “legal” depending on what qualifications there are for heirship?), but I’m not sure exactly what themes that would play into, other than maybe how the pursuit of power can change someone?

That said, your themeatic instincts are strong enough that I can see you having a strong idea for a “middle-of-the-pack” candidate winning out over the others just as much, so— I am genuinely curious what your thoughts are for where you Want this crisis of succession to end, narratively, even if you don’t have an exact cat picked yet.

Good ask because I'd not been clear about the theme yet, I think. What Riverstar's Heir is trying to get at, at the heart of the issue, is that this is a bloodbath caused by naiive optimism and greed.

The commandments to establish borders and prevent killing are nice, but not enough. You can't just have a society on good will, not when POWER is up for grabs in the scramble. It's about collapse, and how innocent, well-meaning people get caught up in the devastation. Not JUST the troublemakers.

Riverstar was an EXCELLENT king, beloved and wise, but if you don't prepare a proper successor, everything you worked hard to build might crumble to ruin.

Something unique is lost in this shuffle. It's no longer the River Kingdom, and the Wind Coalition also becomes WindClan at this point. For better, and for worse, they both lose a bit of what made them special. Redscar's choice at the end also solidifies the early political power of Clerics, which is eventually broken many generations later with Larkwing's Strike.

So, fragment time,

At LEAST three "heirs" end up getting killed.

So, because these ones are gonna die, I have Three Heir "Slots" that I'm committed to and just need to fill;

The Eldest, Riverstar's oldest living biological child.

The Chosen, Riverstar's adopted heir, a rather meek prince easily pressured into backing off his rightful claim. This one is likely going to be the BB! version of Mossfire.

The Firstblood, directly descended from Riverstar's FIRSTborn child. This one is likely going to be the BB! version of Jumpfoot.

I also have two tentative slots.

The Accomplished... who is a blood relative of Riverstar, but more of a "puppet" for WindCo. Someone they're intentionally propping up hoping for power.

The Diplomat, from WindClan, who is a lot like WindCo's puppet but this one is more subtle about it. Poetic. Happy to purr and remind the world of the wonderful, deep ties that had existed between King Riverstar and Thunderstar.

And, LASTLY, there's The Deputy. The most qualified choice, who served Riverstar, but was no relative.

It feels right that the Deputy is the one who is chosen in the end... hm.

Anyway

After a smaller conflict near the start of the story, either The Eldest or The Firstblood seems to be the favorite to win... but decides to wait for the morning to set out for the Moonstone and take their lives.

In this time period, without selecting a successor, this heir is assassinated.

In fact it might be VERY fun if this heir, being so much like King Riverstar himself, decided to throw a pre-emptive celebration.

Meat! Merriment! MURDER!!!

Having them go out via poison would be a fun way to send a character off.

This is going to be why the "DEPUTY BEFORE MOONHIGH" rule is established, but it's also what kicks off the bloodier parts of the plot.

Thinking about it... a cleric and/or the deputy should probably tell this heir, "Hey, buddy, you should really get going" and they're ignored.

With Eldest Heir gone, the small conflict from earlier becomes an LARGE conflict.

And, like they did back in DOTC, families start to rally together. Especially Eldest's offspring, who think they're just as entitled to the Throne as The Firstblood/Jumpfoot

King Riverstar used to encourage cats to enter the River Kingdom freely. The borders were essentially open, and everyone was allowed in, as long as they were willing to cross the river.

(maybe I'll even have him pull down the tree from Riverstar's Home intentionally, happy to accept other cats into his Kingdom. Then he defends it from Skystar, specifically, but refuses to destroy what he built.)

This had allowed River Kingdom to grow large and powerful, but it also meant everyone in River Kingdom had connections to the other Clans.

Which meant there were cats supporting OTHER bids to the Throne, like the one from WindCo and the one from ThunderClan.

Smelling a way to grab power, Duststar supports his favorite heir, and Whitestar of ThunderClan also begins to stick his nose in.

Each Heir tries to run the River Kingdom, and things start to get hostile. If there's more than just the three heirs, even more of them start to get openly attacked, chased out, killed, until there's only The Chosen and The Firstblood left.

Somewhere around here, River Kingdom is invaded. Probably by the leader of SkyClan at the time, claiming that they don't even NEED an heir to take what these cats clearly don't deserve.

And that's when the internal conflict becomes a FULL-BLOWN WAR between four Clans.

In those days, the camp was at Sunningrocks, right in the middle of the river.

ThunderClan jumps in to help its "Ally" against SkyClan, just like historical precedent, but they have NO IDEA who they're fighting against, because the whole Kingdom is divided. It's not as simple as it was in DOTC anymore.

WindCo came to support its favorite heir, but its cats don't obey Duststar's orders when it comes down to fighting their own friends and family, meaning they're functionally fighting EVERYONE and losing a TON of cats

SkyClan is getting pummeled because EVERY group is pissed at them as well as each other, getting a painful awakening that they are NOT being run by Skystar the War God anymore and they're no longer the biggest, baddest bananas in the bunch

(shadowclan is watching all of this and eating popcorn. moisturized. in their lane. unbothered.)

The climax here, between The Chosen and The Firstblood, is a battle that matches the chapter from COTC. They launch at each other, in a battle to the death.

The first Sunningrocks Battle.

They both wear "crowns" on their head, one custom made for Mossfire's short-furred head, and traditional, braided into Jumpfoot's long, lush fur.

As they claw, bite, and tumble, they plunge into the river.

Fighting and hissing, they try to pull apart to rise up for air-- and can't.

They're STUCK

The crowns became tangled in their skirmish, and neither one can work with the other to bring them both to shore, against the current.

Both heirs, the last with a proper claim to the throne, drown together in the river.

At the end of the bloodbath, the tone is very somber. The rules were meant to prevent The First Battle from ever happening again... but The Second Battle had just taken place.

The body count wasn't AS high as the First Battle, but it was still a bloody loss. Every Clan lost warriors. Even ShadowClan, who hadn't even been IN the conflict, checked its ranks to find that powerful warriors had run off to go fight with their Kin.

Now they could be buried with them, too.

And now, there was no proper heir. If any descendants were still kicking around, they were refusing to take a throne that so many cats had died for. Jumpfoot and Mossfire never emerged from the River, their bodies, and their legendary crowns, were never found.

At first I'd been considering Redscar being swapped to become a RiverClan Cleric, but now I'm thinking it actually makes sense he's still from ShadowClan. ShadowClan was the ONLY neutral group-- it's reasonable for the clans to turn and request their partiality.

So, Redscar peruses the options, having followed the situation from afar.

His choice, in the end, was The Deputy. The most experienced advisor who knew Riverstar, and probably tried to stay at his adopted daughter's side as well. The closest thing they'd had to a leader all along.

(Thought: Maybe this character will be the POV. Make it like a bit of a fake-out title, you THINK Riverstar's heir is Mossfire. But it's actually been this one all along.)

He creates his famous false sign, and from there, the five groups discussed how they could prevent this from ever happening again.

They create the Law of the Deputy, commanding that ALL Clans have a single Deputy who will inherit the Clan after the leader passes away, ending dynasties in WindCo and River Kingdom and centralizing power in the other 3.

With the massive losses that WindCo and River Kingdom experienced, they also restructure, forced to accept a lot of help from ThunderClan and ShadowClan.

The borders began to close up, leading to the sentiment that would lead to Commandment 4, the Law of Loyalty, in just one more generation.

[officialclangen]

Are there any plans for river or marshland camps? I love the ocean-side ones, but I have a soft spot for rivers, streams and marshland like what Forest ShadowClan and Lake RiverClan have. Love the game, you guys rock!!!

Also, I saw a reddit post about polyamory. Is it being added to the game officially? Thanks!

Yup, we've got plenty of camp plans!

And yes, it's in the testing phase and will hopefully come with the next update.

[warriorcatsauclan]

She-cat Firestar AU

NEW WARRIOR CATS AU!! Yes, starting a new one despite not even finishing my other one. This will be a what if Firestar was a she-cat. I will be mainly writing down things that changed and will be skimming over the stuff that stays the same. I will get back to the AlderSky Au soon, but I wanted to share this one as well. So, here we go ~

~ Into the Wild

Most things, including the major plot points, stay the same. Mainly the things that change in these events are little things. Such as:

Firepaw is noted to be very pretty

While Sandpaw is still snarky, but is a bit nicer to Firepaw, as she is happy that there is another she-cat in the Apprentice's Den

Firepaw does not have a crush on Spottedleaf

Everything else that happens in Into the Wild happens the same as in canon. Yes, even Fire's warrior name, Fireheart.

~ Fire and Ice

Again, most major events stay the same, but there are more difference's this time.

The journey to find WindClan is the same, with the minor exception that Onewhisker clearly thinks that Fireheart is pretty.

During the fight at the Gorge, Graystripe manages to grab onto Whiteclaw before he falls and Fireheart and Leopardfur help drag him up. Leopardfur is grateful for this, but still demands that they get off RiverClan territory.

Fireheart still gets Cinderpaw and Graystripe still gets Brackenpaw. Fireheart still spots Princess.

Graystripe still falls into the frozen river and is saved by Silverstream, but he does not fall in love with her at first sight. This is because Graystripe is already in love with Fireheart at this point, even if he does not consciously realizes it. As a result, Graystripe is around more as a mentor to Brackenpaw.

During the time Bluestar gets greencough, it is not Cinderpaw that gets injured, but Brackenpaw. When Fireheart goes to get the catmint, she tells Graystripe to keep an eye on Cinderpaw as her apprentice had already suggested going to meet Tigerclaw in Bluestar's place. Thanks to this, Cinderpaw is kept in camp and is not injured. However, Brackenpaw, wanting to be helpful, goes to try and meet Tigerclaw by the Thunderpath. As a result, it is Brackenpaw who's leg is injured.

Cinderpaw is guilty because she kicked so much of a fuss about it that Brackenpaw felt like he had to go and Graystripe is guilty that he did not pay close enough attention to Brackenpaw. Fireheart is trying to comfort everyone.

The next big change happens when Fireheart brings her nephew to ThunderClan. While the Clan still has trouble accepting him, they do eventually allow him to stay. This time though, Fireheart moves into the nursery to raise him. Brindleface still suckles him, but Fireheart is the one raising him, teaching him Clan ways and mothering him. Graystripe steps in as a father-figure to the kit. Fireheart is also the one to name him.

This where another big change comes in - Fireheart does not name him Cloudkit. Instead, she names him Snowkit, since it started snowing the day she brought him to camp.

Fireheart still trains Cinderpaw in her spare time, but Graystripe also stepped into to help mentor her.

Most things stay the same, with the minor changes that Fireheart is in the nursery, so there are times where she either cannot go to a Gathering and Graystripe relays what happened or Cinderpaw taking Brackenpaw's place in getting the patrols when the former ShadowClan cats attack camp.

When Snowkit sneaks out of camp with Fernkit and Ashkit, Fireheart is the one that alerts everyone. She is furious, if a tiny bit proud that Snowkit caught a vole for the Elders, and scolds Snowkit for putting himself and his friends in danger.

When Onewhisker comes for help during the attack on WindClan camp, Fireheart does not go, since she is technically a queen, so Graystripe relays what happens to her later.

When she hears this, Fireheart cannot help but worry for her Clan and new kin if Tigerclaw ever becomes Leader, a resolves to make sure he cannot hurt any other cat.

Aaaaand that is the end of part 1. Will post part 2 soon and the next part for AlderSky Au. Hope you enough!

[call-me-scott]

Clan culture

I always kinda disliked how similar the clans are despite how big of a deal they make out of half-bloods and transferring warriors. How many arcs can “omg did you hear where they’re from?” gossip work?

I headcannon that the four clans are each much more different culturally, and each function differently.

Thunderclan, descendent a of loin prides, deeply rely on one another and just about do everything in packs. Valuing loyalty above all, those who are excellent team coordinators and self-sacrificing for their clanmates are admired and revered.

Physically, they are the second biggest of the clans and muscular with large manes and warm colors adorning their coats. They select their leaders with vocal support, so deeply networked with each other they often shove forward the cat they think is best forward when picking deputy. This same connection is also why most cats are named after another in dedication (example: brambleclaw au where he is renamed brambleflower after his mother), and why the other clans consider them invasive and nosy.

Shadowclan’s secrecy and distrust is formed by their tiger ancestors, naturally suspicious of outsiders but capable of forming deep lifelong friendships with their peers. They admire the battle-hungry, often showing off their scars and named after their victories. (Example: RunningNose is named after his first curing of a clanmate with a cold.)

Largest of the clans, they have huge dark dense coats often tangled or matted with scars and thorns and often seen as brutes. With great dedication to battle, they only select their greatest fighters as leaders with potential deputies proving themselves worthy in a ritual skirmish with the leader.

Riverclan, made up of the blood of leopards and jaguars, are considered vain by the other clans but no-doubt the most beautiful and successful. With plentiful food and lack of predators thanks to the protection of the rivers, most conflict comes from within.

These cats have silky pelts decorated with complex patterns in cool colors and are often named for their looks (Example: Leopardstar) Due to their own sureness, their leaderships often delve into monarchies, with blood relation marking a cat’s status.

Windclan get their speed and smarts from cheetahs, valuing cunning above all and rivaling the fox in wits. Intelligence is needed to survive the open fields, their greatest thinkers and problem solvers worshipped and praised. They often named after their personalities, queens sometimes waiting a couple of days to get to know their kits before naming them. (Example: BreezeKit named by Nightcloud in honor of his headstrong mannerisms.)

Much more skinny then the rest of the clans, their long lanky legs, dull coats, and large attentive ears making them appear awkward to the other clans. While seen as cowards by outsiders for their lack of confrontation, their intelligence and openness to discussion makes their selection of next the leader the most efficient with each member voting for one of the running candidates with stones.

Skyclan is an excluded clan, isolated to the mountains and descents of a mixture of cougars, bobcats, and other travelers. Much less strict socially, they are known for their willingness to accept outsiders and valuing most well traveled cats and knowledge of the lands. They are named after the places they’ve seen and origins. (Example: LeafStar named after the amber valleys of fall she once called home.)

These cats are small, with large paws and immensely dense coats and unique coloring that seems to stick to no pattern. Due to the youth of this clan’s creation, their leadership seems to be more un-centralized with a small group of advisors surrounding the leader at all times to input their opinions on matters. As you can imagine, picking a new leader after one’s passing is considered a laborious task of bickering and conflict.

[g0ldenfur]

I finally finished Wind! Quick thoughts for now:

Nice character progression for Nightheart. I like how many interactions he has with Squirrelstar in this book because it makes for a great contrast with how he thinks about and behaves around her as compared to when he was a shitty whiny baby man. Love him. Also very funny seeing him have to deal with an apprentice who does something irresponsible without telling him. How the tables turn...

Also nice character progression for Frostpaw. Now that she's confronted the uncomfortable truths, she has to stick her neck out there to make the things she thinks is right happen. Ultimately it's her sheer determination to do this, despite the mocking and lack of belief she encounters, that wins the other cats over. Her lack of belief in herself was the biggest thing she had to overcome and now she has. I've been expecting Froststar since River and I still expect this in the end.

Sunbeam felt like she had a lot more movement last book, but I did like her chapters here still. I did like that she ultimately needed to accept that ThunderClan deserves her loyalty more than Berryheart.

Splashtail is such a funny villain. What a dumbass. MacLeod Andrews went hard on his crazy speech in RiverClan at the end of the book.

Berryheart is gonna be so wicked in the next book, I feel like, and I'm here for it.

Tigerstar being a big Dad man is adorable.

SO MANY CUTE THUNDERCLAN MOMENTS. Cute elders. Cute apprentices. Cute Nightheart and Sunbeam and Bayshine.

Squirrelstar feels like she's avoiding losing her actual character for the sake of being leader, for now anyway. She still feels very much like the Squirrelflight we all knew and loved, and I can't say as much for Firestar and (especially) Bramblestar once they became leader. Remains to be seen if this holds in the next series, but I'm optimistic.

Overall I still really really like A Starless Clan. Feels like a solid top 3 WC series for me, and that could only hope to improve assuming Star sticks the landing.